The Grinch Who Stole New Business Development
Since 1957, Dr Seuss’ Grinch has stolen Christmas only to discover that, despite his best efforts, the spirit of the season remained. Ultimately, not even the Grinch could deny the spirit of the holiday. Let’s hope that those in legal sales leadership, like the Grinch, are able to do a turnaround.
For many of those legal sales “leaders,” it’s been easy to blame the economic situation for lower success rates. Some firms, in a cost cutting panic, have taken major reductions in their marketing and business development programs. Yet in doing so, they overlook a very basic question – how should they be spending their remaining budget to maximize marketing efforts?
In a recent survey of the AmLaw 200 that appeared in the ABA’s Law Practice magazine, the responses to one question demonstrate that many law firms don’t realize what practices they can already implement. When asked what they plan to do that is innovative or radically different for their firms in 2010, the most common responses involved:
- Identifying new, enhanced ways of marketing
- Focusing on business development efforts
- Using client-centered business development
- Using social-media
- Developing new ways of using information in business development
- Taking advantage of business development and sales training for lawyers.
The report’s authors, Burkey Belser and Sue Allison stated, “The categories of responses that resulted from this question may do more to define what “radical” means in the traditional law firm marketing context than what “radical” means in marketing per se.”
But in my opinion, when it comes to business development, the answers are already there and they are not radical: they are what the firms should be doing all along, and with even more effort during an economic downturn. Our experience as business consultants for mid-size and smaller firms is the opposite than their larger counterparts. Smaller firms don’t have the same bureaucratic mindset of the larger firms. Even with reduced budgets, their attorney marketing has focused on these very activities large firms call “radical.”
Don’t let “Grinches” stand between you and developing new business. There’s nothing radical about it. Focus on learning and using proven skills, maximize your efforts and watch your practice grow.
